Daily Archives: May 9, 2014
Federal plan for ‘geoduck’ fishing pushes First Nation to threaten blockade
A First Nation threatening to block all fisheries in a large portion of the Strait of Georgia said it’s only doing so as a last resort to fight back against the federal government’s monopoly on resource management in the nation’s traditional waters. Stz’uminus chief John Elliott said the threat was the culmination of decades of frustrations with what he sees as unsustainable resource management by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), which he added favours commercial fishermen over First Nations. Elliott stresses that the nation’s quarrel is with DFO alone, not commercial and sports fishermen. “They’re just caught in the middle of all this,” he said. Read more here 22:26
PEI – Three generations of lobster fishing Jollimores
On an early spring morning in French River Jimmy Jollimore wakes to see the sunrise over New London Bay. He then heads down Jollimore Lane to the boat that will carry three generations of his family to the lobster grounds. “It goes back five generations, at least,” said Jimmy, who has 60 years of fishing in so far. “My grandfather, my father and myself. Two sons with gears of their own and one son here with me is three. Sons and grandsons. Brought up to be fishermen, I guess.” Read more here 21:11
NILS STOLPE: Of gumballs, the American Sportfishing Association and fisheries management
FishNet USA — May 9, 2014 — To equate what a recreational fisherman pays to catch a fish to what a commercial fisherman is paid to catch that same fish is to equate the total cost an equestrian pays to ride her horse for a mile to what Amtrak would charge to move her the same distance on a train. The people at the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) are embarking on the second year of a campaign to convince anyone who will listen that recreational fishing is equally as or more important than commercial fishing and that in their estimation the federal government should not be putting so much emphasis on managing the commercial fisheries. Read more here 19:27
Safety, and Survival Training, Gloucester May 15 – 16
Fishing Partnership Support Services is offering two hands-on training sessions taught by Coast Guard-Certified Fishing Vessel Safety Instructors. These day-long trainings are FREE for commercial fishermen – and you’ll be learning from the best. Read more here 15:45
Blockade of the prawn fishery could ruin fishermen – Lance Underwood skipper of Justin Time II and Quicksilver Girl
I am a commercial fisherman from Cowichan Bay. I run a commercial prawn and crab boat, and the local spot prawn fishery is incredibly important to my family and I. I live in a modest home with my beautiful wife and amazing six-month-old son. I pay our bills, provide food, and pay our mortgage through my income which I earn during our short prawn season. Read more here 14:22
Weighing Anchor, But Much More to the Story
There are many iconic skylines, but not many as proud and cherished as the stabilizer arms that reach above the fish markets from Menemsha’s sister draggers, the Unicorn and the Quitsa Strider II. Loved by their captains, the fishermen in the harbor and the tourists who lunch by their hulls, the two have written many chapters of the proud and storied history of commercial fishing on Martha’s Vineyard. Read more here 10:26
Bizarre fish in Newark park a step to caviar
NEWARK, Ohio — A chance encounter with an ugly fish has turned a Newark city park into a potentially lucrative enterprise. In industry jargon, it’s called “aquaculture.” But for the layman, let’s call it what it is — a caviar farm. Read more here 10:00
Endangered porbeagle sharks still at risk, say COSEWIC scientists
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC
) re-examined the porbeagle’s endangered status last week in Halifax — and this week re-confirmed it. However, top Canadian shark researcher Steven Campana, a senior scientist at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, said there’s cause for hope. Read more here 09:36
Cool Video, Cool Music, Cool Fishery – Commercial Fishing Video Of The Day | Fish On | Roe On Kelp Harvest 2014
Sitka Herring is just the beginning of the herring circuit for many fishermen in Alaska. While many boats head north to Togiak for one of Alaska’s largest herring runs, a few southeast seiners head out to harvest “roe on kelp.” Read more here, and watch the video. 09:19
NOAA Gets First Chief Scientist In More Than A Decade – Changes to federal personnel rules makes him a shoo in
Currently the vice president for research at Oregon State University (OSU), Corvallis, Spinrad is a known face at NOAA and in Washington. He served as NOAA’s assistant administrator for research from 2005 to 2010, and led its oceans and coastal zone programs from 2003 to 2005. From 1987 to 2003, he worked for the U.S. Navy, including as Technical Director for the Oceanographer of the Navy. He earned his doctorate at OSU. Read more here 08:52 (lots of interesting links!)
British Columbia Geoduck dispute threatens fisherman safety, harvesters say
A First Nation’s plan to block all commercial fisheries in their territorial waters in the Strait of Georgia risks the safety of commercial geoduck fishermen, said Michelle James, executive director of Underwater Harvesters Association (UHA), a group of 55 licence holders for geoduck and horse clam fisheries in British Columbia. Read more here 07:54
Lobbyist: Mashpee homeowner behind move to block shellfisherman
MASHPEE — One of the homeowners locked in a legal battle against a proposed oyster farm in Popponesset Bay was behind a Boston lobbying firm tucking an amendment into the state budget that would block the project.Charles Clough, head of Clough Capital Partners, a $3 billion investment firm, asked ML Strategies to push for the amendment, a spokeswoman from the lobbying firm told the Daily News of Newburyport on Wednesday. Read more here 07:27
